Originally from Sioux City, Iowa, Matthew Baker began his professional career on the double bass at the early age of 13 with the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra, first as section and later as principal double bass. He has been a student of Gary Karr, James VanDemark, William Ritchie, Corin Long, Duncan McTier, Jiri Hudec, and Rodney Slatford among others. He holds a Bachelor of Music from the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, UK, and a Postgraduate Diploma from the Royal Academy of Music in London, UK.
Matt leads a diversified career in double bass performance, having achieved recognition worldwide for his work in classical, jazz, folk, and theatrical performance in over 20 countries. He has had critical acclaim from concerts in publications such as The Times, Independent, and Guardian (London), The Sunday Herald and The Scotsman (Glasgow), WAZ (Münster), Jazz in Europe (Netherlands), Irish Times (Dublin), Chamber Music Magazine (United States), ABC (Spain), Cuadernos de Jazz (Spain), L’Informatiu (Spain) and Las Provincias (Valencia). Matt has played with the jazz greats such as Bob Mintzer, Terri Lyne Carrington, Mike Mainieri, Jorge Pardo, Dave Samuels, Mike Mossman, Steve Brown, Clark Terry, Yael Paez, and Victor Mendoza. In 2008, Matt won first prize with his duo at the UPV Jazz competition in Valencia, Spain and currently works with his jazz duos JPMB and Duo Baker/Zambelli in addition to other ensembles.
As a folk musician, Matt has recorded and toured with many of the contemporary legends of Celtic music such as Chris Stout, Catriona McKay, Fionan DeBarra, Mairi McInnes, and Luke Daniels. He also ventured further into the realm of world music with his formation of Diablito Tango, the award winning tango trio based in Valencia, Spain.
From 2001 until his move to Spain in 2006, Matt toured the US, Europe, and Far East as a member of the theatrical string septet, ‘Gogmagogs’, formed by reknowned British theatre director Lucy Bailey.
As a chamber and orchestral classical musician, Matt currently works with the Orquesta de Communidad de Valencia ‘Palau de les Arts’, the opera house founded by Lorin Maazel and Zubin Mehta. He also co-founder of the chamber group ‘Ensemble La Seu’ and the cello and double bass duos ‘Bass Instinct’ and ‘Duo Maski’, and through their recitals throughout North America and Europe is continually working to promote and develop the repertoire of chamber music involving the double bass. Matt has performed as a guest soloist with the Banda Municipal of Barcelona, Banda Municipal of Bilbao, Banda Muncipal de Cullera, as well as with the Spanish Brass and with the string quartet ‘Koutet’. He has also played with the London Symphony Orchestra, Halle Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Royal Northern Sinfonia, and Singapore Symphony Orchestra, among others.